


The More Things Change

by moovelope



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Brotp, F/M, alt!jack - Freeform, working TARDIS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-03
Updated: 2015-04-03
Packaged: 2018-03-21 00:37:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3670977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moovelope/pseuds/moovelope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor and Rose finally get TARDIS 2.0 up and running and take a quick trip to the 1940's.  They should've known that things weren't going to go quite as expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The More Things Change

The TARDIS materialized quietly in a small, snow filled alley. The door opened silently, then closed, then opened. Rose Tyler closed the door once more and turned towards the Doctor, who stood near the console fiddling with his tie in a mirror he had propped up against the waveform generator.

“I didn’t think I would miss the horrid squeals of the hinges, but it’s weird that they’re so quiet,” she said. “And when we land, why’s it so silent?”

The Doctor looped the tie and pulled it through the haphazard knot he’d created. It looked like an utter mess. He began to pull the knot loose for the third time in a row. “It’s a brand new TARDIS, Rose; she doesn’t have the moans and groans of a centuries old one. I mean, I can see if I can get her wheezing on take-off—”

“No, no that’s fine. Don’t need you messing about with it any more than you already have. It only took you ten years to get her going,” Rose cut him off. She walked up the steps to the console and began to run her hand over the new cobbled together controls, all conveniently labeled for her sake. She was definitely going to fly TARDIS Mark II, though she would need some of the control names clarified such as ‘The Wobbly One’, ‘Not Sure But It Helps’ and ‘DO NOT PRESS UNLESS VIKINGS’. The Doctor pulled a face.

“Hey, most of those ten years were spent growing the interior of the TARDIS. It only took me a few years to actually build it and get everything in working order,” he said pulling the tie out for the fourth time. Her hands found their way from the console face to his side, running up his suit jacket to his neck.

“Need any help with that?” she asked with a grin. He sighed, defeated.

“Have at it, I don’t understand why 21st century ties are so much harder to use than 31st century ones.”

“Your old ones had magnets or somethin’, I swear. There you go,” Rose said, tugging the tie tight. The Doctor choked a bit and loosened the knot. “Mickey never knew how to get his ties on either, if it makes you feel any better.” He made a disgruntled snort before giving Rose a quick once over.

“You’re wearing jeans,” he said flatly.

“Someone’s feeling observant today.”

“We’re going to a party in the 1940’s and you are wearing jeans and a jacket, do you see anything wrong with this picture?”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Well, with our track record it was far more likely we would land in trouble than where we were actually heading. Thought it would be best to have something on that I could run in.”

“I find your lack of faith disturbing, Rose.” She looked at him.

“That’s from something, isn’t it? Should I know it?”

The Doctor gasped. “Really, you’ve never watched Star Wars?! As soon as we get back from this party, you, me and 13 hours of sci-fi movies. No, wait where are you going, don’t run away!” he called after her as she began to walk down the steps towards the interior of the TARDIS.

“I’m going to put on my dress, since it looks like we landed safely. And no. No more science fiction movie marathons ever again. Not after you laughed straight through the last one.”

The Doctor looked as though he was going to protest, then thought better of it. “Alright, no Star Wars. Got it,” he called out to her as Rose rounded the corner towards the closet. “Don’t take too long, I don’t want to miss anythi—”

Rose reappeared, fully dressed, hair and makeup done. The Doctor’s breath halted for a moment.

“Have I told you how much I love the wardrobifier now that you’ve fixed the kinks? Ready in five seconds flat, I’ll never get used it,” she said, hopping back up to the console. Seeing his dazed expression, she gave a twirl. Her hair was elegantly twisted and pinned, deep pink dress swishing around her calves. “How do I look?”

“You look beautiful,” the Doctor answered. He pulled her in for a quick kiss. “For a human. Now come on, we’re going to be late.”

Rose swatted him on the arm. “ _For a human?_ You’re lucky I keep you.”

“And likewise. Hurry up and grab your coat, it is cold out there,” he said as he dashed towards the door. She grabbed the fur coat she had chosen for the night off of one of the seats and followed behind him. He stood waiting just outside; smiling up at the sky as snowflakes gently fell.

“Look, real snow. I love when it’s real snow.”

The party was alive and swinging by the time the Doctor and Rose arrived. The doorman checked their heavy coats; brushing off the snowflakes before he hung them up. The Doctor was all smiles, while Rose adjusted her pearls around her neck self-consciously.

"You sure we have the clothing down pat? I think I put the right decade in the wardrobifier, but I’m not sure," she whispered through a smile, waving at a random couple that walked by.

"Pretty sure. I have the right decade definitely. We’re either ahead of the times or a bit out of fashion," he whispered back.

They walked into the town's ballroom, decked to the nines to send off the new troops. The high ceilings bounced back the echo of laughter and music. It was just the beginning of the Second World War and spirits were still high. Young serviceman smiled and invited young ladies to dance left and right while older couples shook hands and shared drinks. It unnerved Rose just a little that she and the Doctor fell into the older crowd here. The Doctor pointed to his left.

"I think I recognize that couple from when Jack took us here. Funny how similar parallel universes can be," the Doctor said, waving at a man and woman across the floor. Rose gave them a quick look.

"They were the ones that dumped wine down your front because you mentioned the baby bump," Rose reminded him. The Doctor's smile fell.

"Ah. Knew I remembered them for a reason. Best to avoid them."

"Yes I think that’d be best,” she agreed. The two of them looked onto the swinging couples in the middle of the hall, dancing to the music by the band off to the side. The Doctor looked at Rose and shot an eyebrow up at her. She nodded.

The Doctor took her hand and led her to the center of the dance floor. As they walked Rose found her steps were already falling in time to the music. The Doctor found a spot in the midst of the dance floor and gave her an over the top bow.

"Rose Marion Tyler, may I have this dance?"

She laughed. "I suppose you can, John Smith Tyler." The Doctor grinned and took her hands. They fell into step easily, from years of acquaintance along with the aid of several dance lessons.

"Remember the first time I took you to the forties?" he whispered in her ear.

"You ran off after space debris and left me in the middle of a German air raid," she reminded him.

"Well yes, that certainly happened. But I meant afterwards. While we were waiting for Jack; that was the first time we danced."

"Wasn't it Glenn Miller?" she asked, twirling as the Doctor reeled her in.

"Moonlight Serenade, yup. Perhaps I could convince the band to play it for us," he said, giving her a grin.

"Convince away, I'll go grab us some drinks," Rose said, giving him a quick peck on the lips. He dashed through the crowd to the band as she made her way towards the bar. After a moment she managed to catch the bartender's attention.

"What can I get for you, ma'am?" he asked. She grimaced at the ma’am. Ouch, does she look that old already? She opened her mouth to order when someone slid up next to her.

"She'll be having a Pink Lady and I'll have a scotch on the rocks," a man who was certainly not the Doctor answered.

"I'm sorry, sir, I'm—" Rose started to shut him down, but the words died in her throat.

"Don't worry about it, it’s on me. Captain Jack Harkness, and you are?" asked the man next to her. He was as young as the day she had first met him, with a dashing smile spread across his face. His hair was slicked back, tucked underneath an army side cap, and he was dressed in full uniform. She nearly burst out laughing.

"Rose Tyler, it's nice to meet you," she managed to say, offering her hand while her lips turned up into a huge smile. Oh _wait_ until the Doctor saw this, she thought. He shook her hand lightly, eyes looking furtively into her own.

"Now, I saw you over here at the bar and you looked a bit lonely. Thought I'd come over and say hello," he explained with his usual amount of flirtation and forwardness. Oh how Rose had missed him.

"Looked lonely, did I? Certainly need someone to remedy that," she jokingly flirted back. She and Jack, the original Jack, had always flirted back and forth during his time on the TARDIS. The pair of them had thought it was the funniest thing when anyone took them seriously about it.

"Ask and you shall receive,” he replied cheekily. “So, what brings you here tonight?" The Bartender chose that moment to arrive with their drinks. As Jack reached for his scotch, his cuff pulled back, revealing a thick leather bracelet. Ah, of course he would be con-man, time agent Jack.

"Here with my husband, actually," Rose said. Jack didn’t even bat an eye.

"I'd _love_ to meet him too," he said, leaning in towards her. Rose couldn’t help it anymore, she burst into laughter.

"Oh, I'm sure he'd love to meet you to, I, oh god I can't even believe this right now," she said between gulps of breath. Jack looked fairly put out.

"That's not the usual response to threesomes in my experience," he complained. Rose snorted and started giggling once more.

"Rose, you will not believe this outrage, I talked to the band and guess what. Glenn Miller? No one has ever even heard of him—" The Doctor cut in suddenly, ranting a mile a minute. Rose tried to get ahold of herself. Taking a few deep breaths, she snagged Jack’s drink and took a quick sip.

"Ahem, ah god, Doctor. I'd like to, hah, introduce Captain Jack Harkness," she said gesturing over her glass. The Doctor turned his head to face Jack, looked back at Rose, and then _whipped_ his head around to stare at Jack.

" _No_. No _way_ ," he said, grinning his head off. Jack gave the pair of them an uncomfortable smile.

"Alright, I am missing something here. Do you know me? I mean, have you met me before? I might not have, I mean, I might not remember it."

"Oh, do you mean have we met your future self? Oh no. Well, not this future self anyway."

Jack's expression shifted from confusion to intrigue. "Time agents?"

"It'sa bit more complicated than that," Rose said, sipping the drink she stole from Jack. Let him drink the martini he ordered.

"We knew you in a parallel world. Met during World War Two, actually," the Doctor explained. He then looked down at the bar. "Rose you didn't get me a drink!"

"Jack over here ordered for me, you can have the Pink Lady, if you’d like."

"Oh god no. I'll just get ano—”

Jack slammed his hand on the bar, catching their attention. "You can't just argue about drinks after saying you've come from a parallel universe! That isn't even possible!" Jack hissed. The Doctor snorted and leaned over Rose.

"Yes it is. Well, not anymore. Hopefully," the Doctor replied while nabbing Rose's drink. Rose let him have it.

"Yup, you’re just another ex-time agent Harkness off to scam the next unsuspecting alien," Rose added. Jack sat there in a bit of shock for a minute. Rose ordered herself a scotch in the meanwhile, the Doctor finding a seat beside her. After a moment Jack blinked, and then smiled at the two of them.

"I don't know if I should run screaming or invite you back to my place for a shag. You two sound absolutely crazy, I like that in a person."

The Doctor sputtered into his drink, and then pointed a finger at Jack. " _Stop it_ , we aren't going down that road," the Doctor warned.

"Again," Rose amended. Jack's grin was blinding.

"Oh as long as I have a chance, I'll bite. Now, what are you two cruising around in? Any possibility of me seeing your spaceship?"

Rose snorted. "Ha! No. Wouldn't trust you not to steal it."

“I second that,” the Doctor added.

"Oh, but you _know_ me!" Jack protested.

"Exactly. Now, if it was you down the line with a few morality lessons, then we'd be going somewhere,” Rose said.

"Morals, how _boring_ ," Jack sighed. Rose tapped the Doctor's elbow to get his attention and motioned towards the dance floor.

The Doctor jumped out of his seat, “Well, nice meeting you here Jack. Maybe we'll bump into you again in the future, past, what have you. Now Rose and I have some dancing to get to!" he said, taking Rose's hand as she slipped off the stool.

"Behave," she warned Jack. He simply smirked in return. The two left him behind as they twirled onto the dance floor.

"Of all the luck in the universe," the Doctor said laughing. "Of course we would bump into Jack."

"You think he'd be interested in coming along with us?"

"Oh he's drooling over the idea, I can see him from here, staring."

"Staring at what in particular? Because your arse looks great in those slacks," Rose teased. The Doctor dipped her as she laughed.

"I think he's enjoying the overall view," the Doctor replied, wriggling his eyebrows in suggestion.

“We’ll be needing to check our drinks when we’re done, I wouldn’t put it past him to slip something into one,” Rose said, looking over the Doctor’s shoulder at Jack, who was still watching the pair.

The Doctor snorted, “You don’t really think that he would— Oh wait, I just saw him slip something into the Scotch. And the martini. Okay, point taken.”

The song winded down, and the two stood, still swaying to the fading music.

“Could we take him on one trip? Just to test the waters?” Rose asked as another waltz started up. She watched the Doctor’s face as he contemplated it.

“I don’t think it’s too good of an idea. We just got the TARDIS working, and there’s still a lot of kinks to work out. I don’t like the idea of an unprotected TARDIS against Jack. But I also don’t like the idea of not being the ones to set him straight in this universe.” He shrugged, avoiding Rose’s questioning gaze.

She leaned in towards his ear, “Well, I think I’ve got an idea, if you were up for it.” She whispered out her plan as the Doctor’s eyes slowly widened.

Three hours, several martinis, and some knockout gas later, the Doctor and Rose had an unconscious Jack Harkness propped against the seats in the TARDIS. The Doctor shut the doors of the ship behind them with a snap of his fingers, and began to set in the coordinates for their next destination.

“I’m going to get changed out of this dress, want me to grab anything while he’s still out cold?” Rose asked, two steps toward the wardrobe. The Doctor shook his head, eyes still on the screen in front of him. As soon as he heard her heels click out of the room he spoke.

“I know you’re faking it,” he said to the man prone on the seats to his right. Jack didn’t shift. “Oh come on now, we didn’t even use the strong stuff on you.”

Jack finally picked his head up off the seats. “Oh thanks for the consideration,” he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “If you don’t trust me, why abduct me? Who has some moral issues now, huh?”

“Well, we couldn’t just let you on the ship with your vortex manipulator and weapons, now could we? Don’t worry, Rose will tuck them somewhere safe for you,” the Doctor replied, humming as he fiddled with more controls. Jack pushed himself off the seats slowly, arms shaking a little.

“I thought you said you didn’t use the strong stuff?”

The Doctor pulled a face. “Wellll, not the _strongest_ stuff. The stuff was decently strong. Half strong stuff.”

“If you’re going to kidnap me could you at least make a bit of sense?” Jack mumbled, leaning his weight onto the console and observing the controls. He began to look even more confused. “What exactly am I getting into here?”

“Whatever it is, it’s sure to be fun,” Rose answered, hoping back up next to the Doctor. Jack smiled a bit.

“I’m always down for a bit of fun. Alright you lunatics, do what you will with me, I’ve got nothing else on.”

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other in unison.

“Barcelona?” the Doctor asked.

“Barcelona,” Rose replied.

“Barcelona it is! Now show me what this space junk can do, Doctor,” Jack said.

The Doctor grinned and flipped several switches on the console as the TARDIS began to wheeze. Jack twitched an eyebrow at the noise.

“Don’t worry, you’ll grow to love it,” she assured him.

(And he did.)

(After a dozen or so trips, several morality lessons and still accidentally becoming immortal.)

(But that would be a whole other story.)


End file.
